Actuatable occupant restraining systems having an inflatable air bag in vehicles are known in the art. Such systems that are controlled in response to whether the seat is occupied, an object on the seat is animate or inanimate, a rearward facing child seat present on the seat, and/or in response to the occupant's position, weight, size, etc., are referred to as smart restraining systems. One example of a smart actuatable restraining system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,226.
Many smart actuatable restraint systems rely on machine vision systems and pattern recognition systems to locate the position of an occupant's head. An occupant's head can be identified within an image of the vehicle interior and its position within the vehicle can be determined according to the known positions and orientations of one or more cameras. The actuation of the restraint system can be controlled in response to the determined head position as to increase the effectiveness of the actuatable restraint system.